Getting the best out of your next family trip

Half term is on the horizon, and if you are going on a family trip, I am pretty sure you are going to want to make sure that you get the best out of it.

If you are like me, you will probably have high hopes for your trip. They’re expensive, for a start, and with things like work and school, it can be tough to get the chance to spend quality time together, especially if you have older children in your family, like us. Here are some tips you can use to make sure you’re getting the most out of your next family trip.

Try and avoid technology

Ok, this might be really difficult to achieve if you have teens that are glued to their phone, but if you are  spending your family trip scrolling social media, you may as well all be sat at home. Try and avoid technology and take this time to live in the moment, stay mindful, and bond with one another. It might be a little harder to convince teens to do this, so think up some fun activities you can all do together that will make them forget about the world of social media. If only for a few hours.

Make sure you stay in the right place for your family

Whether you’re camping or staying in a luxury hotel, make sure you do your research to ensure you’re staying in the right place for your family. Does it do breakfast ? Will it have the facilities you need ? Is it suitable for families, and exactly where you need it to be like Courtyard Aberdeen Airport. Make sure you won’t have to drag your family backwards and forwards every day to see the sites and get your day started.

Compromise and do something for everyone

If you have kids of different ages, you’re going to need to compromise and do things for everyone. You can’t keep everybody happy at once, so just do what you can and don’t stress about it.

Let go of the idea of perfection

Letting go of the idea of perfection is key to having the best time on your family trip. If you think everything is going to be all sunshine and rainbows, think again. Your kids will probably squabble, and something will probably go wrong. That’s life. When you let go of perfection and learn to enjoy your trip regardless, you’ve won.

Create a loose itinerary

If you’re travelling with kids, you’re going to want to be a little more lenient with your itinerary. They won’t be able to move as fast as you, and will need more frequent breaks. Keep things relaxed so you can change them if you need to.

Get out of your comfort zones

See if you can bond by getting out of your comfort zones together. Can you go on a big hike, or do something fun and scary at the same time, like scuba diving ? My husband recently did a Zip Wire experience in North Wales, and part of me was thinking how great it would have been to do it all together.

Keep a journal

Keeping a journal, either individually or together as a family can be super beneficial. You’ll have something great to keep in your family scrapbook, and you’ll laugh at the memories in years to come. Or better still, start a blog. The reason why I started my blog back in 2013, was to record our family trips and adventures.